AC/DC is a great game, and one of the more accessible music themes.

The Pros:
Lightning fast layout as one would expect, and a good ruleset that takes the cliched 'abum multiball', 'tall multiball' etc. formula of music machines and makes it more interesting, and very rewarding. Allows for loads of strategy which is great. Each song having it's own area of the playfield is great, a feature I wish had made it's way to Kiss and Aerosmith. Toys on the premium are nice, nothing revolutionary, but the swinging bell and train look good and the lower playfield is fun for a few hits and is thankfully only used during certain modes. Cannon is great, music is great, what little speech there is, is great.

The cons:
Whilst the backglass and cabinet art on the LEs are better than the pro, playfield art is still unimaginative. Cannon functions well but looks dreadful and blocks those greedy outlanes. Loads of unfair drains on this one.

All in all, an absolute classic and great for tournaments, with most issues being cosmetic only.

AC/DC Premium/LE (2012) Review

Since I've played this game for the first time in 2013 (Pro Edition) I love it. For me it is at least one of the best games of the last years!


Playfield Layout:

It has a super layout made by legendary designer Steve Ritchie and the flow doesn't lack on this one in my opinion. Every shot feels smooth.
The shots are hard but they're hittable. If you miss your shots often the game will definetly drain you fast, especially on the Pro with the standup-targets. On the Premium/LE on the other hand you have the "safer" drop-targets.


Game Rules:

Lyman Sheats has done it again, he has made another groundbreaking gamecode. You can pick between 12 different songs, which each influence your scoring and gameplay strategy differently.
I love the multiballs they're really hard to start and finish. But they're a lot of fun to play actually.
Encore is one of the best wizard modes I've ever played, although I've never finished it. It's a new innovative mode that (as much as I know) has never been used before.
I love the jukebox feature on the game featuring the album and live versions of all used songs.

With the last software update (V 1.70) we finally have a real use for the red horn arrows. You collect them all to lite stuff in the jukebox. Basically you just get awards in a designated order, cool feature though.
And another great addition the last code revision has given us is easier settings. In retrospect I feel that they were a little too hard previous to that.

On the Pro and Premium edition you can enter the cannon via the right ramp and if the flasher lites and then the right diverter actuates.
On the Premium/LE I find it kind of irritating because you cannot tell when the left ramp diverter will actuate, because there is no lamp/flasher to indicate that. Confuses me a little bit.

The game has one of the greatest gamecodes I've ever seen. And that's due to Lyman Sheats. He worked on many of the best games gamecodes (Monster Bash, Attack from Mars, Medieval Madness,...).
I really value the effort Lyman Sheats is putting into these games. It makes these games special and unique!

I would love to see Lyman Sheats doing more gamecodes!


Toys and Gimmicks:

The Premium/LE has great gimmicks (molded train on left ramp, moving band, miniplayfield).And there is the main gimmick, the cannon, which finally is a gimmick not only to bash but to really interact with.
In additon to that there is a moving bell with a magnet underneath, which moves or stops the bell. And there is an additional saucer behind the bell in which the ball rests when the miniplayfield is active.
I don't find the miniplayfield on the Premium/LE being that special though. For me it is more of a "gameplay-blocker". Of course it is a nice feature though. I guess that's just a matter of taste.
It definetely makes it easier to score big points on this game.


Gameplay:

As I mentioned earlier in my review every shot feels smooth. The game is a true masterpiece by Steve Ritchie. The only negative aspect being the left ramp diverter and miniplayfield kind of stopping the gameplays flow.
Of course it makes it easier to get the ball into the cannon though.


Artwork:

The Playfield, Cabinet and Backglass artwork is good, although it is "photoshopped". Of course it doesn't come near Metallica's artwork.

The animations are excellent on this one. Great job Stern! There is a great variety of different animations. Although I wish there would be different animatons for the Jam, Album and Tour Multiball start.


Sounds and Music:

I love the custom speech on the game by Steve Ritchie. I can't say much about the music either you like it or you don't.
It is nice that you can hear 12 different songs in multiball, which you really can't do on many of the music-pins like Aerosmith or Metallica for example.


Game Lighting:

The game has great lightshows and there is a nice amount of lamps on and below the playfield. One thing that I love about the Premium/LE are the color-changing LEDs. They look awesome. The flashers are nicely placed too.


Lastability:

There are so many different combinations of songs and multiballs on this game, that it doesn't get old in my opinion. It isn't easy to get to the wizard mode (Encore) in my opinion.
I think the Premium/LE Edition might have the advantage of being a bit easier there than the Pro.

So, because it isn't easy if you're going for Encore all the time I guess the game will not get old that fast even with the advantage of the Premium/LE being easier.


Theming:

The game really fits it's Theme. It couldn't have been done better in my opinion.


Fun:

The game isn't easy so it isn't always fun, but overall it is. Because playing a good multiball on this game is great and it it's even possible for an average player in my opinion.
And if you can do that and collect your tripled Song-Jackpot the game is just a great deal of fun!


Overall:

AC/DC is one of the hardest and greatest games I've ever played. And it definitely is one of the best games released in the last years.
So if you're a good player looking for a challenge this is the game to play. If you're more of an average player the Premium/LE version will probably be the right thing too, because it definetely is easier than the Pro Model.

It is definetly worth dropping some quarters in!


Thanks to Steve Ritchie, Lyman Sheats, Mark Galvez and Stern for this beautiful game!

Awesome game. I've played about ten different ACDCs. My one problem is the delivery out of the pops/bell. Some machines will drop the ball SDTM or even the right outlane. I guess that's more of a machine setup problem but it seems to be very common to get wrong. The mini playfield doesn't do much for me but it doesn't hurt. The challenge of getting to the encore is very appealing if I could find a game in perfect condition to play for a few years. And the song jackpot is very satisfying.

This is the game that knocked "Tales of the Arabian Nights" out of my personal Top 10. "AC/DC: LE" is a fantastic game on nearly every single level. As with most of Stern's rock tables, I'm not a huge fan of AC/DC but I'd listen to their stuff probably before any of the other bands Stern has signed. The game is smooth as hell, giving you the option to listen to about a dozen of their best songs -- and each one gives the table its own unique "personality". For "Thunderstruck", there's thunder and lightning when you hit ramps and targets while "T.N.T." gives you explosions. The ramps are smooth and fairly easy to hit and each one is rewarding. The toys include a heavy requiem bell and a concert stage where the guys "play" during certain modes. The only downside to the game is the DMD which doesn't have a lot to offer in the way of animations and, while the music is there to compensate, the sounds are fairly generic. Overall, however, this machine is a blast to play and probably the best of Stern's rock tables.

This is a bright game, with an ability to draw you in. I'm not a huge AC/DC fan, but this game is themed well, and the music does not get annoying. My biggest complaint with this machine is that it is quite drain-heavy. I've tweaked the leveling of the game, and still struggle with draining shots. The lower playfield is an interesting addition, but the novelty wears off. The biggest plus is the lighting and sound. Added a few mods, which improved the look of the game, but it really didn't need it. I'd definitely recommend the alternate translites, unless you're a big fan of the band, in which case the stock one would work.

AC/DC is one of the best games Stern has ever made. Tons of fun!

Fun game. Lower play field is awesome. Art isn’t the best. Great game for sure.

Fun,Fast and deep, my favorite machine.

WOW, i have the Lucy Vault and is a real beauty. Very fun and very deep game, a keeper for me. One of the best light show. A real pleasure to play, for all the family and friends, good player or not. AWSOME

No good if you hate the music, but otherwise fantastic. 12 full length songs each with their own lighting and scoring give this game endless variety and freshness. it's loud, fast and sometimes brutal, but definitely has the 'just one more gane' factor. A modern classic.

The best game I have in my collection. My mom visited this past weekend and loved it out of all games I have. No wonder they will keep vault production coming. No brainer. I can’t stop playing it.

Love this game. Great game play and great play for a newbie or and advanced player.

I don’t know the rules and I can’t figure them out. This is ruining the game for me, which otherwise seems awesome! I love the music, the artwork and playfield are awesome, I like the shots, I just can’t get any points! I know this is an easy fix, I just need to take 10 min to read them, but as of now I find this game very frustrating and I can’t enjoy it. I call this the Getaway effect.

Awesome game. It doesn't get any better then a pinball machine integrated with ACDC music a Steve Richie layout and code by Lyman Sheats. This game is a masterpiece!

I have now been enjoying my Premium VE for several months and feel ready to rate it. A terrific game with awesome shots and deep innovative rule set. Each song presents a new challenge of how to play the game. It really adds to the overall experience of the game. Great lighting and music add to the experience. Love it! An all-time great - period, end of discussion...

Playing this fast and fun playfield to this soundtrack of AC/DC songs kicks @s$. Ramps, cannon, and bell are satisfying shots. Mini "hell" playfield under the main playfield is great. A little heavy on multiballs, but I'll take that kind of complaint all day over others.

I'm on the fence between this and metallic a.... I keep going back and forth as I own both and love pinball with this music.
There is actually more to the modes as some people think and u can incorporate so.e serious strategies. Sub is a must.
Looks great also.

I was after this game for ages, and when I finally got one I was really excited to get it home and set up to play. unfortunately it then left my collection in just a few short months, as despite its awesome sound and light show, despite the great deep rules, the clangy bell, the lower Hell playfield, and the exciting risk/reward juggling act when you decide to go for a song jackpot or wait to get it higher and multiplied ..... despite all this, the game just wasn't FUN enough.

I like games with humour, with tongue in cheek, with jokes and funny faces and all that stuff, ACDC is just too damn serious for me. and for that reason, i'm out.

The first 5 games I could not figure this machine out, mainly the cannon. The next 5 games I still had only had 2 extra balls and 4 games total with any multi-balls. This game is tough in a great way!

This machine is a real piece of art, just beautiful and detailed to look at, and play.

The callouts are brutal or nice, depends on how you do. The music is awesome, the lights and everything is just awesome.

One of the better rock themed pins.

one of my most favorite games, great layout and plays very smooth

Played this at Replay FL it was a blast

Fantastic game! The song selections are superb! Super high quality and I would wager a lot of r&d, time and money went into making these. My Luci has a very expensive feel to it. Cabinet and backglass art is... uh, quite hot. A perfect 10 in fact I'll say. I love the pf. A lot going on. Band call outs each time downing the 3 TNT targets - Oy! The train whislte blowin' wooo-woo! each left ramp hit! A ramp made triggering a cannon to fire! Wow, tons o' fun to be had here! Top bumpers really crack, loud like thunder. Game sounds and looks just dynamite. I really do like that lower pf, adds to it and in no way detracts. It's just one more thing to look forward to and lick your chops about trying to do (let's see how many times I can go 'round and round this time)! Excellent flow and although challenging for me such that I wish I could keep a ball in play longer that just lends to it being so much fun that I really hate it when it drains. It's ACDC, it's pinball, it's R'N R - it's rockin'! What's not to like?
It would truly take concrete shoes, neckties, cyanide, or high voltage to get this game outta me ol' mancave coin and laundry! #Keeper4ever

Love the game, cant really warrant the added money for the moving bell and crossover ramp. No biggy,.. Not a fan of under playfields.. The ModFather...

The under playfield is too gimmicky. The cannon toy is neat, as is the bell ringer. Definitely has a lot of toys to play with. Not super fun though and hard to trap the ball.